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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24187513">Lazarus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rolerei/pseuds/rolerei'>rolerei</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Memory Loss, POV Second Person, World of Ruin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:14:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,124</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24187513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rolerei/pseuds/rolerei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Luche woke up in a world of constant darkness with no recollection of how he got there - or who he was.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Glaiveweek2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lazarus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic was written for Glaiveweek 2020 day 4: Moments of Life / Sleep Deprivation / Reflection</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You had no recollection of what had happened. The only thing you remembered was waking up, and everything was dark. You looked up to the sky and saw that it was both moonless and starless.</p><p><em> That's odd </em>, you thought, all the while moving to sit up. The grass tickled at your elbows. It was only until your eyes adjusted to the darkness did you realize that you were in some sort of a field.</p><p>How the hell did you get here? You tried to dig deep into your memories to find the answer, but you came up with nothing.</p><p>Before you could think further, however, a low growl somewhere to your right caught your attention. You turned quickly and saw a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark, surrounded by hulking shadows. The shadows and the eyes moved, and your heart skipped a beat.</p><p>It lunged towards your direction, all shadows and red eyes. You stood up and jumped back, adrenaline rushing in your ears. The creature snarled and bared its teeth at you before pouncing forward. Cursing, you jumped and threw both your hands up in the air. By the time you landed again on your feet, the creature had been struck down by the tip of a spear - the handle of which was in your palms.</p><p>The creature wailed and retreated. You took the chance to run away, as fast as you could, without ever looking back.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>For hours afterwards, you kept on moving. Eventually the field was replaced by a forest, but it didn't feel safe enough yet for you to stop. The memories of the creature snarling and showing its teeth were still too fresh. You wanted to put as much distance from the incident before you could rest in peace.</p><p>And there was no way to tell what time it was. You had expected the sun to finally rise, but it never did. If anything, the sky actually looked even darker.</p><p>If your head wasn't as foggy as it was, you would be wondering what actually happened to the sky. There seemed to be some sort of dust or soot that was ever present in the air. And <em> that creature </em>…</p><p>You stopped walking and looked down at your outstretched hand. A spear had appeared there when you tried to fight off the creature, with a swirl of blue lights. As if by magic. How did that happen? Was it all your doing?</p><p>Suddenly, you glimpsed a movement to your right. You turned abruptly, alert, your hands and feet forming a stance (how did you even know how to do that?). A ball of light was moving close towards you - a flashlight it seemed like. Whoever was holding it stopped walking after they reached a distance of a couple meters away from you. Then, they aimed the flashlight on your face.</p><p>You winced from the bright light, but that didn't stop you from noticing the gasp that escaped the other person. "Who the hell are you?"</p><p>You opened his mouth, ready to answer, and then closed it again after a realization dawned on you. "... I don't know."</p><p>"How the hell don't you know who you are?" The person took a couple of steps forward. "Don't you dare mess with me!"</p><p>"No, really!" you shouted, taking a couple steps back. "I… I can't remember! Not even my own name!"</p><p>Silence. The person finally lowered his flashlight down. You couldn't see too much details, but you could clearly see that the other person was actually a man, standing there with lips thin with impatience.</p><p>"Please, believe me," you resumed, desperation spilling into your voice. "It's the truth, I swear to you."</p><p>More silence. Eventually, the man scowled and made a nonchalant gesture before turning around. “Alright. Follow me. We'll continue this somewhere else less infested by daemons.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The fire crackled against the wood. On the other side of it, the man sat down watching the fire. His hairstyle - dark and shaved on both sides, with small braids trailing the back - was even more striking in the presence of more light.</p><p>“So you really don’t remember who you are, huh?” The man asked at one point, looking straight beyond the fire.</p><p>There was a moment before you nodded hesitantly. “Yeah… all that I remember is just… waking up.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>There was a flicker in the man’s eyes before he turned away. “Guess I can assume you don’t remember me either, huh?”</p><p>You blinked. “Do we… know each other?”</p><p>“Oh yeah. Even better: we were soldiers in the same squad.”</p><p>“Squad?”</p><p>“The Kingsglaives.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“Can’t remember that either?”</p><p>You shook your head. The man sighed audibly. “Alright, then. I guess we’ll start over. My name is Libertus - Libertus Ostium.”</p><p>“Well, I’d say ‘nice to meet you’, but I suppose that’s not necessary.” You smiled wryly. “So, what’s my name?”</p><p>“It’s… Luche. Luche Lazarus.”</p><p>Luche Lazarus. You repeated the name quietly, trying to get your own tongue familiar with it. The name evoked nothing from you - no recognition or sense of identity. As if it was any other name. When you looked up again, you saw that Libertus had cast his eyes down.</p><p>“Do you happen to know what happened to me, Libertus?” you asked next. “I suppose it’s quite… abnormal to just wake up in a field somewhere, not remembering who you are.”</p><p>Libertus snickered. “Nah, not really. Although, with the way the world is now, who can really say.”</p><p>He pointed to the sky. “The Long Night,” he explained. “Been years now that the sun doesn’t rise.”</p><p>“Huh.” You tilted your chin up to the constantly dark sky. “Can’t say I remember that happening.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah, pretty sure you don’t know about that one.”</p><p>Libertus rose up to his feet. “Anyway, time to hit the hay. Lestallum’s a little ways away from here. Better catch some sleep before we hit the road.”</p><p>“Lestallum?”</p><p>“Yep. The last bastion of humanity. Probably can ask around folks there about what happened to you. Maybe someone would know.”</p><p>You frowned. It was only a gut feeling, but you could sense that Libertus hadn't told you everything. At the very least, though, he was helpful enough to help you out and even tell you your name - provided that it really was your name.</p><p>For the next few hours, you lied down on your back by the fire, watching the dark sky instead of falling asleep. All the while, you tried to list down just how much you knew so far.</p><p>Your name.</p><p>The Long Night.</p><p>The fact that you were a soldier once, and belonging to the same squad as a man called Libertus.</p><p>A short list, but you supposed it was plenty enough to start.</p>
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